Yellowstone will implement an overnight backcountry permit fee starting May 1. The money raised from the new fees will help defray the costs of running the park’s backcountry program.

Anyone obtaining a permit to stay overnight in the backcountry between Memorial Day and September 10 will have to pay a per-person, per night permit fee for all individuals 9 years of age or older.

Backpackers and boaters will pay $3.00 per-person, per night, with groups of 5 or more paying a total of $15 per night. Stock users will be charged $5.00 per-person, per night.

Visitors may purchase an Annual Backcountry Pass for $25, which covers the per-person, per-night backcountry fees for the individual pass holder for the calendar year in which the pass is purchased.

Yellowstone has accepted advanced backcountry reservations since 1996. The advance reservation fee remains $25 for trips reserved more than two nights in advance.

Reservations are currently being accepted for backcountry trips for 2015. Applications submitted prior to April 1 are processed in random order by lottery. Reservations received after April 1 are processed in the order in which they are received.

Revenues from the advanced reservation and per-night fees are expected to cover just over 40-percent of the costs associated with operating the park’s nine backcountry offices. This reduced dependence upon the park’s base operating funds will allow Yellowstone to reallocate money to support other important park operations.

So far in 2013 hunters have killed more wild bison migrating from Yellowstone National Park than any year since 1989. Participation by American Indians, who harvest the animals under long-standing treaty rights, helped to drive the numbers skyward.

Two hikers who encountered a bear in the Yellowstone backcountry Thursday were treated and released for injuries. The small group of hikers–four in all–were hiking the Cygnet Lakes Trail southwest of Canyon Village where they were charged by a sow.